THE STUMP OCTOBER 7, 2011
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Fun times this afternoon at the Values Voters Summit, judging from the dispatches from the first day of the conference. Rick Perry was introduced by the head of the Southern Baptist Convention, who afterward staunchly affirmed his church's position that Mormonism is a "cult." Perry, meanwhile, got in another dig at the White House on Israel, suggesting that the administration has abandoned its ally. “When I am president, America will again stand with our friends," he said. "Keeping Israel secure is key to keeping America secure.” (The Jewish Daily Forward ran an in-depth piece this week describing the White House's efforts to combat this sort of thing among Jewish voters.)
But the most curious moment of the day had to be Rick Santorum's warning to voters that they "look at who [the candidates] lay down with at night." When I first read this, I assumed he was speaking metaphorically, urging voters to look closer at the inner-circle financial supporters and associates of the candidates. But no, on closer examination Santorum was speaking literally, about the candidates' spouses. The full quote:
“When you look at someone to determine whether they’d be the right person for public office, look at who they lay down with at night and what they believe in. Who is the person at their side who has... the closest counselor to that person? If you want to find out if that person who you are voting for is going to stand tall and stand tough, find out where the spouse of that person is."
Hmm. What exactly is Santorum suggesting here? Clearly he seems to believe that at least one of his rivals comes up short to Karen Santorum in this department. Might it be the wife who reportedly urged one candidate to order a mandatory vaccine for the HPV virus? Or the wife who, lo so many years ago, gave $150 to her local Planned Parenthood chapter? Or, perhaps, not a wife at all, but the lone husband in the field of spouses? Hard to believe, given that said spouse has taken such vigorous action in fighting the scourge of homosexuality, a mission Santorum also cares deeply about. In any case, let's hope Santorum can clear this matter up at next week's debate in New Hampshire. The spouses watching in the audience will surely be eager to hear more.
5 comments
That is nothing short of weird. I mean, there is a fairly harmless version of this in which you note that the quality of a person's spouse says something about that person (usually to create an opening to congratulate said person for picking said spouse) but Santorum has the peculiar ability to take something relatively normal and turn it into something downright creepy. And get those biblical cadences! "Laayyyy dowwwn with at niiight" in bass tones, straight out of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Bet he couldn't say "sleep with" or "go to bed with" because he would be too embarrassed.
- ironyroad
October 7, 2011 at 6:34pm
A (joyfully) practicing hetero all my life, once married and now single again lo these last 5 years, and I never thought I'd say this, but I swear listening to Santorum makes me want to try batting for the other team, just once, just to spite him.
- Tristan
October 7, 2011 at 6:50pm
I've lain down with lots of chicks at night. I'm sure at least 4 of them are good people with lots of wisdom and belief in stuff, so that gives me at least a +1 advantage on Newt Gingrich in that department.
- Konstantin
October 7, 2011 at 7:49pm
I am much taken with the remarks about whether Mormonism is a "cult." (Apparently an evangelical whack at Romney.) As a strong non-believer since reading much of the Bible at the age of ten (57 years ago) and thinking, "Either this was written by God or it was written by human beings. It sure sounds to me as if it has the fingerprints of human beings all over it," a view that has never changed, I consider Mormonism a cult, Christianity a cult, Islam a cult, Hinduism a cult, Buddhism a cult, and all the other inventions of God by any other name, cults. There are various attempts to distinguish between "legitimate" religions and "cults," such as http://www.spiritwatch.org/cultdef.htm. However, as far as I can see, there is no reason to distinguish any religious belief and organization from the word cult. Here we are, the universe exists, we exist, this is quite remarkable, and it is quite remarkable that we are alive and aware of our existence, but about all we can say is that we don't know how we got here or where we come from. As far as I am concerned we would be better off to stop making up stories about what we don't know and try to deal with what we know and make the best of it. I don't think I will live long enough to see a Presidential candidate who does not pretend to believe in some cult or other, though. Is anybody running on the Santa Claus ticket?
- skahn
October 8, 2011 at 5:56am
Konstantin, prostitutes do not count. Which reminds me, whatever happened to williamyard?
- WillPastor
October 10, 2011 at 1:02am